


Broken World

by Sheketti



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: I'm gonna update tags when i post more chapters, Supernatural Elements, ghoul!sole survivor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-08 20:39:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14701833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheketti/pseuds/Sheketti
Summary: Charlotte had known the end was coming, but she never would have guessed that it would be today. The prophetic nightmares had been haunting her for a month, but after seeing it, she doubted those nightmares would ever end. She was living in one, now.She didn't need a vision to tell her that this was only the beginning.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is kind of based on how when the elevator goes down to the vault, everyone around you gets down, but the sole survivor stands there staring at the blast like a fucking idiot.

Charlotte McClaire stood mesmerized, unable to tear her eyes away from the nuclear blast. _The end of the world_. Around her, her neighbors cowered low to the ground, shielding their faces in anticipation of the rapidly approaching shockwave as the platform below them descended all too slowly. Charlotte raised a hand to shield her eyes when the heat became too much. It burned, it burned so _much_. Her eyes burned worst of all; she couldn't even open them, not that keeping them closed helped any. She heard the vault seal closed above them just as the full force of the blast passed overhead.

Charlotte known the end was coming, but she never would have guessed that it would be _today._ The prophetic nightmares had been haunting her for a month, but after seeing it, she doubted those nightmares would ever end. She was living in one, now. Seeing the nuclear detonation in real life only confirmed that horrifying reality. Charlotte had hoped it would never happen, although she'd never had a vision that hadn't come true. She just wished she could have been wrong, just this once. But now, the whole world had gone up in nuclear flames.

In the sudden silence, the ringing in her ears grew far louder. A hand gently caressed her arm as the platform continued its descent. She could hear Nate, her husband, talking to her, but couldn't quite make out his words. They must have reached the vault, because he began to gently guide her as they slowly walked forward, off the platform. The ringing in her ears was starting to die down by now, and she could hear her neighbors conversing in hushed, panicked tones.

“Can you open your eyes?” she heard Nate ask her softly. Charlotte squinted. Everything was blurry, but she could still see, despite her eyes feeling like they had been scorched by the radiation. She blinked a few times, very slowly, and her eyes began to focus on the entrance to her family's new home. Charlie assisted her in climbing up to few stairs and into the vault, until some of the Vault-Tec personnel stopped them.

“Hold up, your radiation levels are dangerously high.” One of them said, speaking like someone trying way too hard to sound important. He wore an eyesore of a jumpsuit, a vault suit, if Charlotte recalled correctly. _If they put me in one of those, I'm torching it first thing after we get out of here._ “We're going to have to treat your wife's burns before we can safely get her into decontamination. We need to get her to the eye wash station before this gets any worse, please follow me.”

The man lead her down a hallway further into the vault, separating her and Nate. She heard Shaun start to cry in Nate’s arms when she left, and Nate trying his very best to comfort him. Unlike her, Nate had kept low, and the blast of radiation had not scorched him like it had her. Charlotte internally scolded herself for being so stupid. What the hell had she been thinking? Or rather, why the hell _hadn't_ she been thinking.

-

If Charlotte never had to use an eye wash station ever again in her life, it would be too soon. But despite it being a wholly unpleasant experience, her eyes burned a whole lot less than before. And the Vault Tec guy had put something on her burned skin which numbed the pain. He had told her that it would speed up the healing process and soak away some of the lingering radiation. 

On her way to meet up with Nate outside the the changing rooms, Charlotte got shocked stares from everyone else in the vault. When she passed by, people would suddenly go quiet. One woman had looked like she would scream if she were to come too close. Even Nate had looked rather shocked for a moment before pulling her into a tight hug. Everyone in her own group had had gotten at least somewhat burned by the radiation, even Nate, whose skin was now somewhat reddened. It mostly just resembled a bad sunburn. _Are my burns really that much worse?_

“Where's Shaun?” she asked, pulling away slightly. For some reason, he was avoiding eye contact. That was unusual, and it kind of really hurt.

“They took him to another room for decontamination, something about the adult pods being too dangerous for infants.” Nate shrugged. “I don't much like it, but they're doctors, we can trust them. They said they would return him at orientation.”

“Do we _really_ have to wear those horrific skin tight suits?” Charlotte questioned, exasperated. “They're just so...you know.”

“Well, I'd say you probably don't have much of a choice.” Nate chuckled. “Sure, it's a bit of an eyesore, but it's better than what you're wearing right now, sorry hon.”

Charlotte looked down, and agreed that he was right, as much as she hated it. Her current shirt had partially disintegrated, and was far from modest. The remaining fabric was discolored. She sighed in defeat. “Yeah, I suppose I can't go walking around the vault dressed like this. Although it does match my skin now, I suppose.”

“Does it hurt?” Nate asked, looking concerned. “I, uh, sorry. That was a dumb question.”

“It still burns, but that guy put some kind of lotion on it to numb the pain. How bad is it?”

“The mirror in the changing room will give a better answer than me.” he answered, leaning forward to give her a quick peck on the lips. “You don't look quite the same as you did this morning, but you still have that irresistible charm of yours.”

“Flatterer.” Charlotte laughed, turning to enter the women's change room. Once inside, she grabbed a suit in the closest size she could find and slipped into one of the dressing stalls. Upon seeing her face in the mirror, she froze.

Nate had been right, the reflection looked nothing like it had earlier this same morning when she had been getting ready for the day with him not more than an hour ago. This woman's face was disfigured beyond recognition, burnt skin starting to slough. Her nose was especially red and tender. Charlotte had to bite her tongue to stop herself from screaming when she noticed the abyss black eyes of her reflection gazed back at her.

Charlotte abruptly tore her eyes away from the mirror, fell to her knees and immediately vomited up the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Luckily, all she had eaten so far was her morning coffee that Codsworth had prepared for her. Unfortunately, she began to dry heave after there was nothing left to expel from her stomach.

After it all seemed to be over, Charlotte shakily got to her feet looked down at the suit still clutched tightly in her hands. They seemed to be a bit reddened as well, but not nearly as bad as her face. She tore off her shirt and pants, as well as the unsalvageable bra, trying her best to ignore the extent of the burns covering her upper body. The sooner she got this over with, the better. Even though a small part of her wanted to hide in this stall forever. She hated being the center of attention, especially this kind of attention.

But, as reluctant as Charlotte was, she had to get dressed and back to her husband. The vault suit was somehow even more uncomfortable than it looked. Just as she was zipping her suit up, someone knocked on the stall door. At first, she thought it was Nate checking up on her, but then she heard a feminine voice on the other side of the door.

“Ma'am?” The voice inquired tentatively. “Do you require assistance? I don't mean to impose, but everyone is waiting for you so we can start up the decontamination sequence.”

“No, I'll be right out, thank you.” Charlotte answered hastily, quickly zipping up the rest of the zipper on her vault suit before opening the door. There stood a blonde woman wearing a lab coat over some enviously comfortable looking attire, whose eyes widened a fraction upon seeing her. “I'm really sorry about the mess.”

“It's alright, these things happen.” the woman sighed, trying to mask the stress in her face behind a weak smile. “The decontamination pods are right down at the end of the hallway. I need to go find someone to clean this up.”

Charlotte nodded silently, hurriedly leaving the room and walking down the hallway, keeping her head low. She was already sick of people ogling her. Not that she blamed them. In their position, she probably would have been doing the same. She found herself feeling disgusted at the thought. It wouldn't have been her first time being too curious for her own good.

-

Vault-Tec had been lying to them. She realized this when she woke up and came tumbling out of that awful pod, freezing cold and gasping for air. Her body felt weak and stiff. For a while, all she could do was stay where she was, sprawled out on the floor of the vault, shivering. Once she was able to move again, she half limped half crawled over to Nate's pod, flipping the lever for the manual release override. The pod hissed as it slowly opened. He, too, came tumbling out of the pod and onto the floor.

Charlotte immediately realized that he was dead. She had always had some kind of gift, able to sense the life energy, or something like that. Nate was empty. She tried to convince herself that maybe her senses were out of whack or something, he couldn't be _dead._ But it was undeniable when she looked into his glazed over eyes. His face was so pale, and the _blood_ dripping from his nose. It was too much for her to be able to handle.

Charlotte screamed and cried until her voice was hoarse and her eyes too dry. And then she stayed there and held him even longer. Her body was slowly growing warmer. His stayed cold. She couldn't stay here any more. She had to get out of this frozen tomb. The world outside was likely heavily irradiated and dead, but she didn't care. Nate was gone. Those scientists had taken Shaun. She had no idea how long they had been frozen in that pods. It could have been _years_ , for all she knew.

Charlotte didn't really have a reason to keep going. There was nothing to live for, not anymore. 

Her home, her family, her entire world...

All gone.

For a while, she shambled around the vault, searching for any clues about Shaun. Anything. Her search was rewarded, only for them to instantly be shattered again. The infant sized pod that Shaun supposedly occupied was now empty. It took a moment for it to really hit her. Someone had taken Shaun. Killing her husband and neighbors hadn't been enough, they had stolen her baby.

Even the scientists had died, their dessicated corpses littered the floor of the vault. They had obviously been dead for a very long time. Hopefully the same didn't hold true for her son.


	2. Chapter 2

Charlotte couldn't get out of that jumpsuit fast enough, and made a point of tossing at to the ground in a heap when she finally freed herself from its grip. If, on the off chance, someone witnessed her leaving this wretched place, she didn't want to be seen in that hideous garment. Luckily, she had found some clothes in the changing room lockers that actually fit her. Men's clothing, but she couldn't bring herself to really care. At least she wouldn't be wearing a constant reminder of this place on her body.

Charlotte made sure not to use the same stall she had just used what seemed like minutes ago. But she knew it had really been much longer than that, judging by the mummified human remains inside the vault. And the scarring on her face. It was no longer red and blistered, but didn't really look that much better. Her nose had gone from a burning red to a dark necrotic purple. And the eyes in her reflection remained that unnerving solid black colour. She came out of that stall in a plain white tee and jeans, swiping some sunglasses to hide them. If there were people still alive up there, she didn't want anyone seeing her eyes as they were now.

After finally exiting the vault, Charlotte didn't know if she was feeling relief or panic. The world outside was not dead, it was quite the opposite, but not necessarily in a good way. Sure, it wasn't an irradiated pile of dust and debris, but this was almost worse. It really made her wonder exactly how long had she been down there. At first, she had thought maybe a year or two. Now, she wasn't so sure. She was surprised the door hadn't rusted shut.

Her former neighborhood was now overgrown with grass, trees, moss, and vines. The hot summer sun filtered through the leaves of the towering trees. Charlotte could even hear birds singing somewhere. She probably would have appreciated the beauty of it all if it wasn't a constant reminder that the world she had come from was long gone. A part of her was terrified that she might be the only person still alive.

Charlotte aimlessly meandered down the hill. It wasn't like she really wanted to see the crumbling ruins of her house, but that's where she ended up. Her house was in much better condition than most of the houses in the neighborhood looked. Most of them had fully or partially collapsed. She almost didn't see the familiar robot bobbing about, trimming the hedges in the front yard. He certainly hadn't noticed her, all three of his eye stalks were focused on his current task.

“...Codsworth?” Charlotte gasped. The robot abruptly stopped his task, all three eyes turning around and evaluating her. She realized that he was probably the only one anywhere that close to family that she had left.

“Miss Charlotte? Is that really you?” Codsworth asked incredulously, looking about as shocked as anything without a real face could look.

“Codsworth, you're still here?” Charlotte chuckled, so relieved to see that he had stayed her for...however long it had been.

“Why _of course_ I'm still here!” Codsworth replied, as though it was the most ridiculously obvious thing in the world. “You don't think a little _radiation_ could deter the pride of General Atomics International. But you look the worse for wear. Best not let the hubby see you like that! Where is Sir, by the way?”

“He's…” Charlotte hesitated for a few moments, thinking of how to tell Codsworth about everything that had happened. “...in a better place.”

“Oh, mum…these things you're saying, these terrible things...I...I think you need a distraction.” Codsworth almost sounded like he was going to say something else, but changed it at the last moment. “Yes! A distraction to calm this...this dire mood! It's been ages since we had a proper family activity. Checkers...or...or perhaps charades! Oh, Shaun does so love that game! Is the lad, uh, with you?”

“Codsworth, please, listen to me.” Charlotte begged, growing desperate. She didn't know what was wrong with Codsworth right now, but maybe there was a chance he had seen Shaun, if he had been here this whole time. He would have noticed people entering and leaving the vault, right? The lift wasn't exactly quiet. “Have you seen him? Have you seen Shaun?”

“Uh, why, uh...well, sir had him last, remember?” Codsworth answered unhelpfully in that strange way he was currently acting. “Perhaps they went to the Parker residence to arrange a playdate. I'm sure he'll be back with him momentarily.”

“Codsworth, the Parkers are dead.” Charlotte asserted, growing more agitated by the moment. “He...he was taken. From the vault. I have to...I'm trying to find him.”

“Oh, mum, it's worse then I thought.” Codsworth sounded like her words were finally starting to get to him, before he jolted slightly, as if he had been shocked. “You're suffering from hunger-induced paranoia! Not eating properly for 200 years will do that, I'm afraid.”

“Wait, 200 years?” she exclaimed, taken aback. Sure, she knew it had probably been a long while, but 200 years? She had been thinking maybe ten years, fifty tops. “It can't have been that long…”

“A bit over 210 actually, mum! Give or take a little for the Earth's rotation and some minor dings to the ol’ chronometer. That means you're, ah, two centuries late for dinner!” Codsworth laughed, although it did seem a bit more forced at this point. “Perhaps I can whip you up a snack; you must be famished!”

“Codsworth, you're acting...a little weird. What's wrong?” Charlotte inquired softly. If Codsworth couldn't snap out of this...whatever it was, she didn't know what she would do.

“I...I...Oh, mum! It's been just horrible!” Codsworth relented, finally addressing reality. “Two centuries with no one to talk to, no one to serve! I spent the first ten _years_ trying to keep the floors waxed, but nothing gets out nuclear fallout from vinyl wood. Nothing! And don't get me _started_ about the futility of dusting a collapsed house. And the car! The _car_! How do you polish _rust_?”

“Codsworth, stay with me, buddy. Focus.” Charlotte urged him. It was growing increasingly obvious that these past two centuries had really done a number on the poor bot. “What do you know?”

“I'm afraid I don't know anything, mum. The bombs came, and all of you left in such a hurry. I thought for certain that you and your family were...were...dead.” Codsworth answered, voice still thick with emotion. And then, looking as though he was just remembering something, he reached back with his claw and retrieved a small holotape from the back of his chassis. “I did find this holotape. I believe sir was going to present it to you, as a..as a surprise. But then, well…everything _happened_.”

“Thank you, Codsworth.” Charlotte spoke softly, taking the tape and looking it over before pocketing it for later. Now wasn't the time, not yet. It was too soon.

“You're, ah, you're welcome.” Codsworth sniffed, before straightening himself up, having been noticeably drooping. “Now! Enough feeling sorry for myself. Shall we search the neighborhood together? Sir and young Shaun may turn up yet.”

Charlotte, knew, of course, that wasn't the case. But she decided to humor the old bot, let him get this out of his system. “All right. Lead the way.”

“Proud to serve, mum!” Codsworth said, enthusiasm actually genuine this time, leading the way up the street and humming aloud. It was sweet, in his own way. He really was trying his best. Mr. Handy robots weren't really made for these types of situations. Not even Codsworth, and he was their newest model.

Codsworth claimed to detect something in one of the nearby houses, so she followed behind him cautiously, praying that it wasn't a bear. And indeed, it was no bear. No, this was even worse. Charlotte screamed at the sight of a giant green bottle fly the size of a soccer ball. It started spewing some kind of projectile at her, but it was intercepted by Codsworth. Upon closer inspection, Charlotte realized in horror that it was a _giant maggot_. She fled the house in horror as Codsworth dealt with the monstrous insect with his buzz saw. She looked back just in time to see it explode, sending rancid smelling fluid and insect parts flying in all directions. In the next house Codsworth claimed to have heard something moving around inside, Charlotte waited outside until she was certain that they were all dead.

“Mum, your family isn't here, either. They're...they're really gone, aren't they?”

“Thanks for trying, Codsworth.”

“Oh, mum. You can't give up.” Codsworth said, trying to encourage her. “What about looking for help in Concord? It's not too far a walk. I think I recall seeing people there, near the museum.”

“There's people alive in Concord?”

“Yes, although they looked a bit rough. Please do be careful, mum.”

“Don't worry, Codsworth.” Charlotte assured him. “I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy, i sure do love copying dialogue out of the game. it's like, so fun.


	3. Chapter 3

The Concord River Bridge was in bad shape. The past two centuries had really taken a toll on the old wood. The middle section of the bridge was partially collapsed, and a lot of the planks were either broken or missing, leaving gaps in between. She nearly fell through one of them, but managed to catch herself in time. That wouldn't have been fun.

Charlotte saw the body soon after crossing the Concord River Bridge. She didn't know how long he had been lying there, but judging by the smell carried by the humid summer air, it had probably been a while. Next to him was what looked like an extremely mangy dog with a tire iron lodged in its ribs. Trying not to inhale too deeply, she briskly walked past the festering corpses. How she could smell with her frostbitten nose was beyond her, but at the moment, she kind of wished she couldn't. Wasn't it bad enough that her mouth already tasted of centuries old vomit?

Charlotte really needed to eat something, not only to get the taste out of her mouth. Codsworth hadn't been wrong, she hadn't eaten in over two centuries, and she was absolutely starving. But surely there wasn't any food left from her time, and she didn't know which plants were safe to eat. Suddenly, starving to death out here was a very real possibility. She tried to distance herself from it, but the hunger made it hard. She decided to check the Red Rocket for food, just in case.

A loud bark snapped her out of her thoughts, making her tense up in surprise. A dog came bounding up to her. He didn't seem to be hostile, at least. A stray, maybe? _He seems lonely. Huh, I guess I can relate to that._ Codsworth was trying his best, of course, but he wasn't the greatest conversationalist. Obviously, dogs couldn't exactly _talk_ , but they were good listeners, usually.

“Well, hello there.” Charlotte cooed, bending down to scratch the dog behind the ear. “You're alone out here too, huh? Wanna stick together, then?”

The dog responded by licking her face excitedly, and Charlotte found herself smiling for the first time in centuries. It was good to meet a real kindred spirit out here. She was really having a hard time without Nate by her side. He had always made her feel so safe, and now she was left feeling vulnerable and empty.She tried to distance herself from the fact that he was dead, and keep her mind occupied with literally anything else.

Charlotte did manage to find a single can of Cram inside the Red Rocket building. It wasn't a real meal or anything, but it was better than nothing. She scarfed down the whole can in no time, despite the taste. While Cram didn't technically expire, it didn't taste anything the same as she remembered. In fact, it tasted absolutely _awful_. The texture and consistency was all wrong, too. But it was _food_. It would keep her alive for that much longer. Hopefully long enough to find a more substantial meal.

She continued toward Concord with the dog by her side. Charlotte had never walked so much in her life, and it was not long before her legs began to ache and she had to stop and rest. The dog whined, perhaps wondering if she was ill. He probably wasn’t used to travelling with someone with such poor endurance. On the plus side, the edge of town was already within sight.

Charlotte let herself relax, listening to the wind play with the leaves in the trees above. The breeze was nice, as was the shade. Walking all the way to Concord in the midsummer sun would have been absolutely awful, especially on a nearly empty stomach. Not that she would have let it stop her.

Once she had rested up a few minutes, they continued on their way to Concord. It wasn't long before Charlotte smelled decomposing flesh in the air. Again. This time, at least, the body did not belong to a human. And then she saw them. Two _giant_ mosquitoes feeding on the corpse. She tried backing away slowly, but the overgrown insects were already in the air.

The dog immediately leapt to action, launching himself at one of them and killing it almost immediately. This caught the attention of the other one, but the dog got out of the way quick enough to avoid getting impaled, and killed that one as well. Charlotte wished she'd brought along something to protect herself with. She could have asked Codsworth, but hadn't thought of it at the time. _Maybe if I find a big enough stick? Or a rock. Or maybe a chunk of pavement? Nah._

Not that much further into town, and Charlotte could hear people talking and laughing, but was unable to make out what they were saying. Feeling optimistic, she ran towards where the sound was coming from. Maybe they would be able to help her. The dog barked behind her, running her, but she paid him no mind. Until the people she had heard talking came into sight and noticed her approaching.

It was two men, both of them filthy and dressed in ragged clothing. One of them drew a gun, which made Charlotte stiffen in fear, but the other whispered something in his ear and got him to lower it. The dog growled at them loudly. That couldn't be a good sign.

“Hey there girlie, whatcha got there?” one of them asked, a man with blue eyes and a scruffy beard. The man who had drawn his gun on her. He still hasn't holstered it. His voice low and rough. Probably a heavy smoker. Charlotte didn't like him. Well, she actually didn't like either of them.

“Holy shit, is that a Pip-boy?” the other asked excitedly. She would have though he seemed almost friendly, but the shiftiness of his dark eyes showed something else. Her fears were confirmed when he pulled quite possibly the ugliest pistol she had ever seen from inside his coat. He leaned forward, giving her a crooked grin full of half rotten teeth. “Tell you what, you hand it over all nice and peaceful like, and we'll give you a head start.”

Well, this wasn't what Charlotte had been expecting to find here. She wondered if maybe she could reason with them. If she could just get a read. It couldn't be too hard to get _something_ out of one of them. She made eye contact with the blue eyed man, only to freeze in fear. She sure had found something, and it wasn't good. Most people had something she could catch, something useful that Charlotte could use in her favor. This man? He would have the time of his life torturing someone. Just because he could.

The very next moment, something went very wrong. Charlotte felt a tickle of something in her nose, and before she could stop it, she sneezed. Fluids went flying everywhere, but mainly all over that asshole’s face. It took a second for all parties involved to register what the fuck had just happened. The man's face she had sneezed on was now covered in blood and bits of flesh. They guy next to him laughed his ass off when he screamed.

“I’m gonna flay that bitch alive!” He roared after recovering for a few seconds. Holstering his gun, he drew a switchblade, flicking the blade out menacingly. _Well, shit. That’s not a very polite thing to say to a lady._

Charlotte turned tail and ran for her life. Because what the hell else would she do? She didn’t have a weapon, and even if she did, she wouldn’t have known how to use it. Nate had offered to teach her how to shoot a gun once, but she had turned him down on the offer. She was now regretting that decision. But she did, at least, know how to run. And boy did she run. If she hadn't been scared out of her mind, she would be probably be impressed by her own speed. Charlotte would have time to worry about all the blood and chunks that had flown from her face after she got to safety, or at least that's what she told herself.

Both of those homicidal maniacs gave chase, shooting at her with poor accuracy. She was faster, though, and quickly lost them, ducking into an abandoned house on the edge of town. It wasn't exactly the most sound structure around, but it had a roof on top, and if she stayed upstairs, nobody would be able to see her from outside.

Codsworth had informed her that he had seen people living in Concord. _People_. Too merciful a term for those animalistic _monsters_. Next time she asked, she supposed she would have to specify that she was looking for people who wouldn't shoot at her on sight. Surely there still had to be _real_ people around, right?

Still, Charlotte couldn't leave this building until she was certain that it was safe to leave. For all she knew, those maniacs could still be looking for her. And she didn't want to risk them catching her. They would likely kill her, if not worse. She tried not to think about that too much. 

Now feeling secure enough, Charlotte tentatively lifted a hand to her face to feel her nose, expecting it to be wet and tender. Her stomach dropped to the floor when she found that her nose was no longer there, only a bloody hole in her face remained. She had to actually force herself to not throw up right then and there, before completely putting the thought out of her mind. It was getting dark, and she was very tired. There would be plenty of time to think about it tomorrow. Besides, she couldn't go screaming when those freaks were out for her blood. Although, she was admittedly a little bit amused to realize that at least one of them had plenty enough of her blood.

All things considered, this house wasn't too bad a place to hole up for the night. There was a mattress upstairs to sleep on, and although it was rather filthy, at least she didn't have to sleep on the floor. She even found a baseball bat next to the front door. It wasn't a gun, but at least she knew how to swing a bat. Turned out, college baseball taught her more about survival than her actual classes. Figures.

Perhaps the best discovery of them all was the bottle of Nuka-Cola on the window ledge. It was flat after 200 years, and rather warm from being in the sun, but it was something. Charlotte had never really cared for the popular beverage before the war, but she downed the entire bottle hungrily. She couldn't afford to be so picky anymore. Even though it did taste absolutely disgusting, especially so now. Carbonated beverages were probably a thing of the distant past by now. She didn't even want to imagine what the beer must be like. Not like it would have aged well, anyway. Ew.

She kept the bat next to the mattress. The dog would probably alarm her if anything tried to kill her in her sleep, and she could at least be ready for them. Maybe in the morning, she could hammer some nails into it. That would look intimidating, at least. She hoped. It was too dark to head back to sanctuary now. Even with her flashlight, she still couldn't see in her peripheral vision. It was just too dangerous. No, she had to spend the night here.

Charlotte sighed before crawling onto the mattress. It smelled of mold and piss, but it wasn't _too_ bad. Not having a blanket or pillow made it harder to fall asleep. That, and the mattress being ancient and uncomfortable. But then, she was just as ancient, wasn't she? Sleep came soon after the dog snuggled up next to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that raider is now scarred for the rest of his brief life


End file.
